Flier construction



May 22, 1962 R. HARGREAVES ETAL 3,

FLIER CONSTRUCTION Filed Aug. 7. 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ll l ' INVENTORSROBERT HARGREAVES HAROLD M. MILLER ATTORNEY May 22, 1962 R. HARGREAVESETAL 3, 35,

FLIER CONSTRUCTION Filed Aug. 7. 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I g q- INVENTORSROBERT HARGREAVES HAROLD M. MILLER ATTORNEY 3,035,393 FLIER CON TRUCTIONRobert Hargreaves, Whitinsville, and Harold M. Mlller,

Northbridge, Mass, assignors to Whitin Machine Works, Whitinsville,Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Filed Aug. 7, 1959, Ser. No.832,239 10 Claims. (Cl. 57-62) This invention relates to improvements inthe flier construction used in a machine of the up-twister type. In thisrespect, attention is directed to Schlums Patent No. 2,843,998 showing atypical up-twister construction.

When yarns which consists of certain long staples of synthetic fibersare twisted in the machine described in the above-identified patent, itis found that the ends of these fibers are thrown outwardly from thepackage or spool supply by centrifugal force and the loose fiber endsbecome twisted with the yarn itself, causing the yarn to break. Theseyarn breakages occur more often due to the loose fiber ends when two ormore yarns or strands in the supply package are twisted together to forma plied yarn.

It is the general object of the present invention to obviate thisdifliculty by providing a construction in the novel flier wherein thetwist is prevented from reaching backwardly into that portion of theyarn which is adjacent the supply package and by preventing the twist inthis portion of the yarn, the loose ends do not become twisted into theyarn and therefore these loose ends cannot cause the yarn to break.

Another object of the invention resides in the provision of new andimproved twister flier wires or flier legs formed with loops or eyesarranged in a new and improved manner for carrying out the purposesabove described.

Other objects of the invention reside in the provision of ananti-friction mounting for the flier for the reduction of undue tensionon the yarn being twisted; the provision of a new and improved fliercontrolling the zone or area in which the yarn is twisted to maintain amore uniform twist; the provision of a novel flier construction enablingworn or damaged wires or legs to be quickly removed and replaced and toreplace one type of flier wire or leg with another type when thedirection of twist is to be changed; and the provision of aself-centering yiel-dable driving connection between the flier mountingand the spindle which is easily detached.

The invention further relates to arrangements and combinations of partswhich will be hereinafter described and more particularly set forth inthe appended claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, in which FIG. 1 isa view in elevation illustrating the invention applied to an up-twistermachine, parts being in section;

FIG. 2 is a plan view on an enlarged scale illustrating the improvedflier;

FIG. 3 is -a view in elevation, looking in the direction of arrow 3 inFIG. 2, parts being in section to illustrate the construction;

FIG. 4 is a view on a still further enlarged scale and is a section online 4-4 of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4 but showing a modification thereof.

Referring now to FIG. 1, the disclosed embodiment of the inventioncomprises the up-twister machine which includes a frame of generallyconventional construction and having a rail 12 on which is mounted aplurality of spindles l4 rotated by belts to from a power source notshown. Frame 10 also supports a rail 18 on which a plurality of brackets20 may be mounted. These brackets 20 provide spaced bearings for acontinuously rotated shaft 22. Secured to shaft 22 and between each pairof atent brackets 20 is a winding drum 24, and take-up spools 26 restupon the drums 24 and are rotated thereby. These take-up spools have endgudgeons 28 which are slidable in guide grooves 30 in the brackets 20.

The brackets 20 slidably support a transverse bar 32 by means ofextensions 34, and secured to this bar 32 there is a guide 36. Bar 32may be reciprocated by any conventional mechanism in timed relation tothe speed of the winding drums as is well known in the art, and theusual balloon-restricting cylinder indicated at 38 may be utilized inthe usual manner and may be mounted upon a bracket 40 in turn mounted onrail 18. The description as so far recited is of usual or conventionaltype in an uptwister and may include the usual yarn guide 42 swingablymounted on the bracket 40 by means of the mounting 44 on pivot 46.

The upper end of the spindle 14 is provided with a reduced tip indicatedby the reference character 48, see FIG. 3. The new and improved flierconstruction is provided with a sleeve-like hub 50 having a centralcylindrical hollow portion and an enlarged opening at 52 for a purposeto be described. This hub 50 receives a generally cylindrical bushing 54which is conveniently made of nylon or the like and is provided with atop end flange or collar 56 held in position against the bottom 58 ofthe enlargement 52 by means of a snap-ring 60. The bushing may be madeelastic by slitting it lengthwise as shown at 62.

Surrounding the bushing 54 and located in appropriate internal annularrecesses in the hub 50, there are provided a set of O-rings 64. The hub'50 is provided with an enlarged base 66 and when the flier is assembledon the tip of the spindle, this base rests directly on the top of thespool which is indicated at 68. The O- ings keep the bushing and hubtight on the spindle tip and due to the relative elastic mounting of thebushing, the flier can be easily and quickly removed bodily from thespindle when an empty spool has to be changed to a fresh supply. Theflier of course is as easily returned to the spindle with the base ofthe hub always positioned flatly against the top of the spool.

The base 66 of the hub provides a support for the inner race 70 of aball-bearing for the flier arms to be described, and this inner race isheld in position by a snapring 72 as clearly shown in FIG. 3.

There are provided a pair of clamping plates or members which arearranged in superposed condition and these plates are similar in sizeand shape and are indicated as at '74 and 76, 74 being the upper plateand 76 the lower plate. These plates may be of any shape desired but arepreferably elongated as is shown in FIG. 2 and centrally thereof areprovided with annular offset portions indicated respectively at '78 and36 for the purpose of holding the outer race 82 of the ball-bearing inposition, and in turn being supported and held in position thereby.Bolts 84- with appropriate nuts or similar fastenings pass throughappropriate apertures provided in the clamping plates 74- and 76 andthese bolts pass through eyes 86 formed on the inner ends of the flierwires or arms respectively indicated at 88 and 9t These bolts, togetherwith the clamping plates, hold the flier wires or legs in the correctposition, and it will be seen that these bolts secure the clampingplates to the outer bearing race 82 and clamp the flier wires or legsbetween the clamping plates 74 and 76. At the same time, they alsomaintain the flier wires or legs in a definite re lationship withrespect to the supply spool 68 by reason of the positioning thereof withrelation to the hub and the base of the hub at 66.

Each flier wire or leg is formed at its outer portion with a dependingarm 92 upon which is formed a guiding eye or pigtail 94. Also, eachflier wire or arm 88 or 90 is provided with an upper oflset wire 'as at96, the

same having an eye or pigtail 98. These flier wires or arms being alike,the guide-eye 98 is reversed diametrically as shown in FIG. 2, but ofcourse extends to the same side of the respective flier in the directionof rotation thereof.

Referring now to FIG. 1, the yarn Y extends from the package P andpassing upwardly extends outwardly through the guide-eye 94. Thence itpasses over and against the outer portion of the leg 88 or 90, thenpassing inwardly through the guide-eye 98. See also FIGS. 2 and 3 whichillustrate that there is a drag or snubbing effect of the yarn on theflier wire or leg between the two eyes 94 and 98. This snubbing effectprevents the twisting action from extending rearwardly back into theyarn between the eye 94 and package P. In other words, the twist formedin the zone between eye 98 and the take-up spool 26 is blocked fromreaching back into the ballooning zone in the member 38 and this greatlyreduces yarn breakages due to the fiber ends as above explained. It alsoprovides that a very uniform twist is maintained in the processed yarnbecause the zone of twisting is well controlled.

The direction of rotation of the supply package P determines thedirection in which twist is inserted in the processed yarn. When thepackage is rotated clockwise, the yarn has 2 twist, and when rotatedanti-clockwise, the yarn has 8 twist. Therefore two types of flier wiresare required, one type for S twist and the other type for Z twist. FIGS.1 to 4 show the flier wires or legs for Z twist and FIG. 5 shows theflier construction which is used for S twist. The only differencebetween the two types is that the eye 98 is at one side of the flierwire or leg, while the corresponding eye 100 in FIG. 5 is at theopposite side thereof. Changing from one type of flier leg to the otheris quickly and conveniently accomplished as explained above.

With the above description taken in conjunction with the drawings, it isbelieved that it will be seen that all the objects of the invention havebeen carried out, and particularly that the zone in which the yarn istwisted is controlled in such a way as to maintain a uniform twist whileat the same time preventing breakage. Furthermore, the parts are easilyand quickly removed and replaced and there is provided a yieldableelastic driving connection between the flier mounting and the spindle inwhich the flier mounting is easily removed and replaced. At the sametime, the construction is such as to provide for accurately positioningthe various parts of the device and particularly they maintain the flierwires or legs in a definite relationship with respect to the supplyspool.

Having thus described our invention and the advantages thereof, we donot wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, otherwise thanas set forth in the claims, but what we claim is:

l. The combination in a twisting machine including a driven spindlesupporting and rotating a yarn package and including means withdrawingthe yarn upwardly from said yarn package, of a flier comprising a legassociated with said spindle and located between the yarn package andthe yarn withdrawing means, said leg extending generally outwardly fromthe spindle and terminating in a position spaced from said spindle,guide-eyes mounted on the leg adjacent the terminal portion of thelatter, said leg extending down, forming a shoulder, said guide-eyes andshoulder providing means snubbing the yarn and preventing the twistingaction of the machine from extending back into the yarn between theguide-eyes and the yarn package, one guide eye being located below theleg and shoulder and the other guide-eye being located on and in offsetrelation to the leg, generally above the shoulder.

2. The twisting machine of claim 1 including means mounting the leg onthe spindle and means for detachably clamping the leg in a predeterminedrelationship with respect to the mounting means.

3. A twister machine including a driven spindle for supporting androtating a yarn package and having means to withdraw yarn from said yarnpackage, in combination with a flier construction comprising a centralhub, said hub being removably mounted on the spindle and including aportion thereof adapted to abut and be positioned by the end of the yarnpackage on the spindle, means for mounting generally radially extendingflier legs on said hub, yarn guiding and snubbing means at the outerends of said flier legs, said flier leg mounting means comprising abearing on the hub, a pair of plates holding the legs therebetween atdiametrically opposite points relative to the hub, and means clampingthe plates on portions of the legs.

4. A twister machine including a driven spindle for supporting androtating a yarn package and having means to withdraw yarn from said yarnpackage, in combination with a flier construction comprising a centralhub, said hub being removably mounted on the spindle and including aportion thereof adapted to abut and be positioned by the end of the yarnpackage on the spindle, means for mounting generally radially extendingflier legs on said hub, yarn guiding and snubbing means at the outerends of said flier legs, said flier leg mounting means comprising abearing on the hub, a pair of plates holding the legs therebetween atdiametrically opposite points relative to the hub, and means clampingthe plates on portions of the legs, said yarn-guiding and snubbing meansextending outwardly beyond the yarn pack-age and guiding yarn therefromto the said yarn withdrawing means.

5. A twisting machine comprising a spindle to mount a supply spoolthereon, in combination with a twister flier, said flier comprising ahub detachably mounted on said spindle, flier legs extending generallyradially outwardly from the hub, and means detachably connecting thelegs to the hub, said means comprising a pair of clamping platesdetachably mounted relative to the hub, a bearing interposed between thehub and the plates so that the plates are relatively rotatable withrespect to the hub, said means including a fastener for the plates, thelegs being included between the plates.

6. The machine of claim 5 wherein the bearing includes an inner and anouter race, the inner race being located on the hub and the plates beingremovably mounted on the outer race.

7. The machine of claim 5 wherein the bearing includes an inner and anouter race, the inner race being located on the hub and the plates beingremovably mounted on the outer race, said fastener securing the platesto the outer race.

8. A twisting machine comprising a spindle to mount a supply spoolthereon, in combination with a twister flier, said flier comprising ahub detachably mounted on said spindle, a removable bushing in the hub,means to secure the bushing to the hub, and means causing the bushing toyieldably grip the spindle, flier legs extending generally radiallyoutwardly from the hub, and means detachably connecting the legs to thehub, a bearing on the hub, said last-named means comprising a pair ofplates mounted on the bearing and supported thereby, said platesclamping the legs therebetween.

9. A twisting machine comprising a spindle to mount a supply spoolthereon, in combination with a twister flier, said flier comprising ahub detachably mounted on said spindle, a removable bushion in the hub,means to secure the bushing to the hub, and means causing the bushing toyieldably grip the spindle, flier legs extending generally radiallyoutwardly from the hub, and means detachably connecting the legs to thehub, a bearing on the hub, said last-named means comprising a pair ofplates mounted on the bearing and supported thereby, and clamping meansto cause the plates to clamp the legs and also to secure the plates tothe bearing.

10. The combination in a twisting machine including a driven spindlesupporting and rotating a yarn package and including means withdrawingthe yarn upwardly from said yarn package, of a flier comprising a legassociated with said spindle and located between the yarn package andthe yarn Withdrawing means, said leg extending generally outwardly fromthe spindle and terminating in a position spaced firom said spindle,guide-eyes mounted on the leg adjacent the terminal portion of thelatter, said guide-eyes providing means snubbing the yarn and preventingthe twisting action of the machine from extending back into the yarnbetween the guide-eyes and the yarn package, one guide-eye being locatedbelow the leg and the other guide-eye being located on and in offsetrelation to the leg, the leg extending downwardly at its end and formingan additional yarn snubbing means with the eyes, the offset eye beinglocated inwardly from the end of the leg, the eye below the leg beinglocated substantially at the end of the leg on the downwardly extendingpart thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,547,813 Herr et a1. July 28, 1925 Walker Mar. 30, Babcock et a1. Jan.3, Munson Dec. 25, Follmer Mar. 19, Castelli July 23, McDermott Jan. 22,Schlums July 22, Burnell Apr. 25,

FOREIGN PATENTS France Nov. 26, Great Britain Jan. 27, Great BritainDec. 21, Great Britain Apr. 3,

